Parents of Indian infant kept in German foster care pin hopes on Scholz visit

New Delhi, February 24

On the eve of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s India visit, which is intended to be path-breaking, ‘#BoycottGermany’ hashtag has been trending on social media in protest against the continued foster care in Berlin for an infant from a Jain family.

The Ahmedabad-based extended family, which has been campaigning on social media, is now pinning its hopes on the summit meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Scholz on Saturday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had raised the issue with his German counterpart Anna Baerbock when she had visited the country in December but there was no breakthrough. Calling it a matter of concern, Jaishankar had said that the Indian Embassy is pursuing it with the German authorities.

The parents had applied for one of them to be allowed to stay with the infant but the authorities said there was no space for an adult in the foster home. On February 20, at a hearing in a local court, no discussion took place on why the child was separated from her parents and put in a foster home, the infant Ariha Shah’s mother Dhara told the media. The authorities also denied the parent’s request to increase the frequency of meetings with Ariha from the present once a month. The next court hearing in the matter is on May 5.

In August, Ariha will complete two years in foster care and according to the German Principle of Continuity if a child is in foster care for two years, she may not be returned to her parents.

The seven-month baby was taken away in August 2021 by the German foster care authorities after a doctor found blood on her diaper. One worry in the Jain community is that she is being given non-vegetarian food.